ReligionForBreakfast

Inspired by Simon Clark's call for his subscribers to post "How I Became a Researcher" videos, I'm posting a short biographical sketch of my journey from a history Bachelors student to a religious studies PhD candidate. Hope you enjoy!

Uploaded 02-05-17

Support the show over at https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast

Simon Clark's Vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOhyZ8FYCmw&t=165s

Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative: http://cdli.ucla.edu/



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A recent study analyzed 130,000 religious leaders in the United States, mostly from Christian and Jewish denominations. The researchers compared their voting registration with their denominations, trying to find trends in each denomination. Some denominations swing hard in one direction (Democrat or Republican) while other denominations seem more evenly split.

Uploaded 20-06-17

Sources:
New York Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/12/upshot/the-politics-of-americas-religious-leaders.html

Actual academic article: http://www.eitanhersh.com/uploads/7/9/7/5/7975685/hersh_malina_draft_061117.pdf

Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry
Blog: www.religionforbreakfast
Patreon: www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast
Facebook. www.facebook.com/religionforbreakfast

Music: Broke for Free, "My Luck"

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The_Lich_Queen
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Across cultures, religious communities that expect more from their members thrive (or religious communities in which members face greater consequences for leaving). Meanwhile, lenient religious groups struggle to maintain membership. Why is this? Wouldn't you assume most people would want to join the easiest religion? Recent research suggests that strict religions are sociologically and psychologically predisposed to succeed.

Uploaded 12-09-18

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Follow me on Twitter @andrewmarkhenry

Sources and Bibliography:

Connor Wood, "Ritual Well-Being: Toward a Social Signaling Model of Religion and Mental Health," Religion, Brain, and Behavior, 7:3, 223-243, 2017.

L. Iannaccone. “Why Strict churches are Strong,” American Journal of Sociology, 99 (5), 1180-1211.

W. Irons (2011). “Religion as a Hard-to-Fake Sign of Commitment. In Evolution and the Capacity for Commitment, 290-309.

D.M. Kelley (1972). Why Conservative Churches are Growing. New York: Harper and Brown

Montserrat Soler, “Costly Signaling, ritual and cooperation: Evidence from Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian Religion,” Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 33, Issue 4, July 2012, 346-356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.11.004 / https://www.montclair.edu/profilepages/media/3203/user/Soler2012.pdf

Sosis and Ruffle (2004). Ideology, religion, and the evolution of cooperation: Field Experiments on Israeli Kibbutzim. Research in Economic Anthropology, 23, 89-117.

W.J. Wildman and Sosis (2011). “Stability Groups with Costly Beliefs and Practices.” Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 14 (3) 1-25. http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/3/6.html

Dimitris Xygatlatas, “Extreme Rituals Promote Prosociality,” Psychological Science, 24(8), 1602-1605, 2013.
http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.bu.edu/doi/10.1177/0956797612472910

Vox article: “Mainline Churches are emptying. The political effects could be huge”: https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/7/14/15959682/evangelical-mainline-voting-patterns-trump

Definition of Strict Church Theory: http://www.thearda.com/rrh/bestpracticescenter/theories/theory14.asp

Connor Wood blog post: “Why is Liberal Protestantism Dying Anyway?": http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scienceonreligion/2013/07/why-is-liberal-protestantism-dying-anyway/

Another Connor Wood blog post: “Religion Builds Self Control and Excludes Outsiders Simultaneously," http://www.patheos.com/blogs/scienceonreligion/2016/08/religion-builds-self-control-and-excludes-outsiders-simultaneously/


UCC Stats: http://uccfiles.com/pdf/Summary-Stats-1955-2013.pdf

Computer modeling: http://www.bu.edu/today/2017/what-computer-modeling-can-tell-us-about-religion/

PC USA stats: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2008/08/001-the-death-of-protestant-america-a-political-theory-of-the-protestant-mainline

PCA stats: http://www.pcaac.org/resources/pca-statistics-five-year-summary/

Amish stats: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2012/08/exploding-amish-population-bubble/2795/

LDS stats: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints_membership_history

Picture Attribution:

Amish buggy: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amish_country.jpg

Buggy and Car:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Passing_Room_(8711992857).jpg

Candomblé Priestesses:
Antonio Milena, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombl%C3%A9_Ketu#/media/File:Iyalorixas_da_Bahia-m%C3%A3e_Olga.jpeg

Candomblé: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Caetit%C3%A9_baianas.jpg



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Watch my interview with Dr. Ali Olomi on Nebula!: https://nebula.tv/videos/religionforbreakfast-what-are-jinn-interview-with-dr-ali-olomi?ref=religionforbreakfast
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Uploaded 10-04-25

In Islam, Satan isn’t a fallen angel—but a jinn named Iblīs. This video explores his story in the Qurʾān, his role as tempter and adversary, and how scholars and mystics have interpreted him for over 1,400 years. Who is the Devil in Islam?

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00:00 Intro to Iblis the Adversary
3:48 The Quranic Story of Iblis
8:07 What is Iblis?
12:42 Later Mystical and Philosophical Interpretations
14:49 Folklore
16:32 Nebula is awesome



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666. The Devil's Number. The Mark of the Beast. But what does it REALLY mean? It actually is a secret code...

Uploaded 13-06-19

Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/religionforbreakfast
Follow me on Twitter: @andrewmarkhenry

Bibliography:
Graffiti and Gematria in Early Christianity: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2012/04/22/graffiti-and-gematria-in-early-christianity/

Lincoln Blumell, "Lettered Christians: Christians, Letters, and Late Antique Oxyrhynchus," 2012

Christopher Frilingos, "Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Martyrs, and the Book of Revelation," 2013.

Elaine Pagels, Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation," 2013.



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Watch Lindsay Ellis' "The Macabre World of Bodycam YouTube:" https://nebula.tv/videos/lindsayellis-bodycam-youtube?ref=religionforbreakfast

Uploaded 19-12-25

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Confucius (possibly) has living descendants, and he is (also possibly) the patriarch of the longest documented family line in history. This video explores how that lineage survived 2,500 years of Chinese history, and why genealogy became a powerful political institution.



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Want to learn Coptic? Join our 8-week Intro to Coptic course and start reading the Gospel of Thomas: https://www.religiondepartment.com/coptic

Uploaded 24-06-25

Special thanks to the Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church Macon, GA for the Port Said icon footage. For the original footage, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUjqmUGxbfo&ab_channel=ArchangelMichaelCopticOrthodoxChuchMacon%2CGA

Coptic Orthodox Christianity is one of the oldest branches of Christianity, tracing its roots to first-century Egypt. This video explores its history, theology, saints, and unique traditions.

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Watch my tour of the Red Basilica on Nebula!: https://nebula.tv/videos/religionforbreakfast-sacred-spaces-inside-the-red-basilica-a-roman-temple-to-the-egyptian-gods?ref=religionforbreakfast
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Uploaded 15-05-25

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He’s not the Buddha—but he might be a Buddha someday. Meet Budai: a 10th-century Chinese monk turned laughing folk hero, Zen trickster, and future Buddha in disguise.



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Watch Angela's video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHDyHpQC-wc&feature=youtu.be

Uploaded 10-06-20

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Bibliography:
Archie Wright, “Some Observations of Philo’s “De Gigantibus” and Evil Spirits in Second Temple Judaism,” Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period, Vol. 36, No. 4 (2005, 471-488.

Dale Martin, “When Did Angels Become Demons?” Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 129, No 4 (Winter 2010), 657-677.

David Frankfurter, “Master-Demons, Local Spirits, and Demonology in the Roman Mediterranean World: An Afterword to Rita Lucarelli,” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 11 (2011), 126-131.



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Join our Patreon community!: https://patreon.com/religionforbreakfast
One-time donations here!: https://www.paypal.me/religionforbreakfast
Join my 15-person online seminars here: https://www.speakeasy.com/speaker/andrew-henry
Check out my favorite religious studies books: https://www.amazon.com/shop/religionforbreakfast

Uploaded 10-12-20

Special thanks to co-writer Seth Weprin.
Thanks also to Gavi Lazan of @Unpacked. Check out their channel for more videos on Judaism.

Bibliography:
Dianne Ashton, "Hanukkah in America: A History," 2013
Jonathan Klawans and Lawrence Wills, The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha, 2020.
Ran Abramitzky, “Is Hanukkah Responsive to Christmas?” with Liran Einav and Oren Rigbi,Economic Journal, 120, 612-630, June 2010

Image Attributions (all public domain or CC):
Hydraulic lift and Menorah, by wikimedia user Ted Eytan: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2017.12.12_National_Menorah,_Washington,_DC_USA_1361_(38980511032).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2017.12.12_National_Menorah,_Washington,_DC_USA_1360_(38980499382).jpg

Israeli dreidels, by wikimedia user Adiel lo; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah#/media/File:Colorful_dreidels2.JPG

Latke, by Wikimedia user Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Potato_latkes#/media/File:LatkeFry.JPG

Model from Holy Land Museum in Jerusalem, Wikimedia user Ariely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem#/media/File:Second_Temple.jpg

Antiochus IV Coin by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc, CC-BY-SA 2.5: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Coins_of_Antiochus_IV#/media/File:Antiochos_IV_Epiphanes_face.png

Menorah, photo by Gil Dekel, wikimedia user 39james, CC BY-SA 4.0:

Gelt pictures, Wikimedia User Evan-Amos, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chocolate-Gold-Coins.jpg

Sfenj donut image, Wikimedia User Maor X: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sfenj#/media/File:Sfenj_sprinkled_with_sugar_and_served_on_a_plate.jpg

Sephardis reading Torah, Wikimedia User Sagie Maoz: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torah_Reading_Sephardic_custom.jpg

Ethiopian Jew celebrating Sigd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sigd-27.11.08.jpg

National Menorah and Washington Monument, Wikimedia User Ted Eytan: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_Menorah_and_Tree_7677_(6560511695).jpg

Hanukkah candles up close, Wikimedia user, RonAlmog: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D7%97%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%9B%D7%94_-_Hanukkah_(5235406326).jpg

Hanukkah bush image, Wikimedia user, Jonah Green: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hanukkah_bush.jpg

August Reidel painting, Wikimedia User, Yelkrokoyade: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Judith_-_August_Riedel_1840.jpg

Impressive photograph juxtaposing National Menorah with National Christmas Tree, Wikimedia User Tim Evanson: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:National_Menorah_and_National_Christmas_Tree_-_2014.jpg

Menorah at Western wall, CC BY-2.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jerusalem_(8141581212).jpg



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